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April 29, 2022 News

Inadequate Kenyan Police Response to Brutal Killing of Non-Binary Lesbian

Murder of Sheila Adhiambo Lumumba Sparks #JusticeForSheila

Sheila Adhiambo Lumumba, a 25-year-old Kenyan non-binary lesbian, was found murdered and naked in their bedroom in Karatina, north of Nairobi on April 17. A postmortem report conducted the next day at Karatina Sub-County Hospital and seen by Human Rights…

April 1, 2022 News

No ‘Beautiful Game’ Without Rights in Qatar

Football Associations, Players Should Call Out Abuses Ahead of World Cup

On March 31, as FIFA convened its 72nd Congress in Doha, one speaker took a brave stance on the uncomfortable truth about human rights in Qatar. Lise Klaveness, the Norwegian Football Association president, directly called out FIFA’s failure to…

A woman speaks at a podium labeled "FIFA"

November 24, 2021 News

LGBT Qataris Call Foul Ahead of 2022 World Cup

LGBT Qataris at Risk Despite Gestures Toward Inclusion

As Qatar prepares to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the government has assured prospective visitors it will welcome lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) tourists and that fans will be free to fly the rainbow flag at the games. But for LGBT…

A general view of the Al Thumama Stadium is seen in Doha, Qatar, October 22, 2021. The stadium will be one of the venues for the 2022 World Cup.

September 27, 2021 News

Kenya Censors Another Gay-Themed Film

Struggle for LGBT People’s Rights Will Not Be Silenced

I have never met Samuel, the gay Kenyan protagonist of the acclaimed documentary “I Am Samuel.” But I feel as if I know him. Not only does filmmaker Peter Murimi’s quiet, steady, honest portrayal of Samuel’s daily life create a sense of intimacy and…

September 7, 2021 News

Pakistan May Have its First Woman Supreme Court Justice

An Important Step Toward Ending Widespread Abuses Against Women

This week the Judicial Commission of Pakistan, the highest body recommending judicial appointments, will consider the nomination of Justice Ayesha Malik to the Supreme Court. If confirmed, she would become the first woman appointed to the court.…

Justice Ayesha Malik Supreme Court Pakistan

March 25, 2020 News

Pakistan Official Supports Transgender Community Amid COVID-19

Societal Discrimination Compounds Health Risks

A high-ranking official in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, reassured the transgender community there that the government would support them during a province-wide lockdown due to COVID-19. Karachi commissioner Iftikhar Shalwani told…

Transgender people wearing face masks as a precaution against COVID-19 take selfies at a park in Peshawar, Pakistan, March 20, 2020.

February 6, 2020 News

Northwestern University’s Precarious Role Under Qatar’s Repressive Laws

The University’s Doha Campus Moves Mashrou’ Leila Talk, Citing Security Concerns

When brand-recognition universities, like Northwestern, Yale, or NYU, choose to expand their reach and build campuses in countries that don’t guarantee academic freedom, they can run into problems with repressive laws. This…

A group of Lebanese activists chant slogans as they hold Arabic placards that read: "Freedom of expression," right, and "With Mashrou' Leila against the suppression of freedoms.

March 14, 2019 News

Will Qatar World Cup Expansion Meet FIFA Rights Standards?

In Kuwait and Oman, Migrant Workers and Transgender Rights at Stake

The international football governing body, FIFA, is meeting this week to discuss expanding the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to a second Gulf country to accommodate additional teams – with Kuwait or Oman as leading contenders, each hardly…

September 11, 2018 News

Qatar's Permanent Residency Law a Step Forward but Discrimination Remains

New Nationality Law Fails to Recognize Equal Treatment for Women, Their Children and Spouses

The Emir of Qatar recently signed a flurry of laws, including one allowing children and spouses of Qatari women married to non-Qataris to acquire permanent residence status. While a step forward, the law falls short because…

August 1, 2018 News

First Woman in Pakistan Nominated as High Court Chief Justice

Tahira Safdar’s Confirmation Would Be an Important Step for Equal Participation

Pakistan’s chief justice has nominated Justice Tahira Safdar as chief justice of the Balochistan High Court. If confirmed, she will become the first woman in Pakistan ever to hold this office. Pakistan remains the only…

Judge Tahira Safdar sits in court in Quetta, Pakistan, November 23, 2015.

June 7, 2018 News

Court Ruling Upholds Right of Same-Sex Couple to Live in Romania

Romania Should Rescind Discrimination Against Gay Spouse

Adrian Coman and Clai Hamilton finally have a chance to celebrate. The same-sex couple married in Belgium in 2010, but decided they wanted to live in Adrian’s native Romania (Clai is American). The kicker – Romania, which does not…

Members of Romania's gay community attend the GayFest Parade 2011 in Bucharest June 4, 2011.

June 1, 2018 News

Denmark’s Face Veil Ban Latest in Harmful Trend

Restrictions Discriminate Against and Isolate Muslim Women

On Thursday, Denmark became the latest in a string of European countries to ban the wearing of full-face coverings in public. Parliament voted overwhelmingly (75 to 30) to adopt legislation that will have a disproportionate impact on…

Women in niqab are pictured after the Danish Parliament banned the wearing of face veils in public, at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark, May 31, 2018.

May 8, 2018 News

Another Transgender Woman Killed in Pakistan

Investigate Slew of Attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

The latest killing of a transgender woman in northwest Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) province exemplifies the government’s failure to take measures to protect the rights of its transgender citizens. On May 4, assailants fatally…

a member of the transgender community, applies make up as she prepares for Shakeela's party in Peshawar, Pakistan January 22, 2017.

April 3, 2018 News

For First Time in Decades, Some Pakistani Women Vote

Authorities Should Promote Equal Participation in Elections

For the first time in more than 40 years, women turned out in significant numbers to vote in one of Pakistan’s districts. The vote for local government in Upper Dir district of Pakistan’s northern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province…

A woman casts her ballot during elections for a new mayor in Karachi, Pakistan, December 5, 2015.

January 13, 2018 News

Can an EU Country Forbid You from Being with Your Spouse?

What Happens When a Government Does Not Recognize Your Same-Sex Marriage

For most married European citizens it is simple: the European Union generally allows non-EU spouses of citizens to live and work anywhere in its jurisdiction if they accompany their EU citizen partner. All you need to do is…

People walk behind the European Union's flag during the annual gay parade in Budapest July 5, 2008.

September 26, 2017 News

Beginning of End for Forced Anal Exams

Tunisia and Kenya Move to Consign Discredited Medical Procedure to History Books

It’s shocking that in 2017 people are still subjected to forced anal testing to try to “prove” their sexual orientation. But Tunisia and Kenya are the latest countries to take steps toward ending these archaic and abusive exams,…

Poster by Shams, a Tunisian activist group, condemning the use of forced anal exams.

June 21, 2017 News

Brexit Without Women

Lack of Female Voices as UK Negotiations With EU Begin

When I opened today’s newspaper, I recognized the photograph: another crucial negotiation, determining key questions of security and regional stability. Eleven negotiators sat at the table: five men on one side, five men and one woman…

Britain's Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union David Davis and his delegation sit across from European Union's chief Brexit negotiator Michael Barnier and his delegation at the start of their first day of talks at the European Commission in B

December 7, 2016 News

Pakistan Province Pushes Transgender Rights

Local Parliament Calls for Federal Guarantee for Transgender Voting

The provincial assembly in a northwestern province of Pakistan this week unanimously passed a resolution calling on the federal government to ensure voting rights for transgender women. It is an important message of support for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (…

Transgender activists protest against the rape of two transgender women in Faisalabad.

September 21, 2016 News

Pakistan’s Rights Body Urges Transgender Attack Inquiry

Surge in Violence Should Prompt Authorities to Act

In a rare move of support for transgender people, this week Pakistan’s National Commission for Human Rights issued a forceful call for an investigation after an unidentified assailant violently attacked a transgender woman in Peshawar, the capital of…

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